Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Sign Outfielder Away From Division Rival To Bolster Depth

Boston's outfield group is growing

Scott Neville

Red Sox Sign Outfielder Away From Division Rival To Bolster Depth
Red Sox Sign Outfielder Away From Division Rival To Bolster Depth /
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After a slow start to the offseason, the Boston Red Sox have put their foot on the gas in order to place the finishing touches on the 2023 roster.

Fans were woken up Wednesday morning by the Red Sox's reported signing of outfielder Adam Duvall, and went to sleep as the team added another player at the same position. 

Former Toronto Blue Jays free-agent outfielder Raimel Tapia posted an Instagram story of the Red Sox's logo with no caption late Wednesday night. He also reposted a story welcoming him to Boston.

Tapia hit .265 with 30 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 52 RBIs and a .672 OPS in 128 games last season. 

Much of his production came at Fenway Park, where he seemed to temporarily transform into a star. Tapia hit .300 (9-for-30) with a double, triple, two home runs, 12 RBIs and a .900 OPS in his new home ballpark last season.

While the 28-year-old almost certainly will not elevate into an All-Star simply by playing half of his games at Fenway Park, he has been a solid player throughout his career -- highlighted by his .277/.318/.392 slash line, which adds up to a respectable .709 OPS in 567 games.

The drawback with Tapia is his basement-level defensive capabilities. The left-hander has a hose, ranking in the 83rd percentile for arm strength, but leaves much to be desired with the rest of his defensive game. 

Tapia is in the 12th percentile in Outs Above Average and the 10th percentile for outfielder jump.

Tapia joins Duvall, Alex Verdugo, Masahiro Yoshida, Rob Refsnyder and possibly Kiké Hernández (depending on roster construction) to form a solid outfield. Jarren Duran also is available as a depth option and likely will battle Tapia for playing time in spring training. 

After the injury-riddled campaign last season, Red Sox fans should be thrilled with any added depth to the organization. 

More MLB: Alex Verdugo Reportedly Had Fractured Toe In 2022, Expected To Breakout In 2023

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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